Photos: Createc gadgets galore

Media Robot

At the 2005 edition of the Ceatec show in Tokyo, the new gadgets are sleek--and sometimes just plain cute. This is Hitachi's Media Robot, a voice-controlled device that recommends TV shows according to a person's viewing habits.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

fuel cell

Gadgetry on display from Toshiba includes a prototype of the Gigabeat music player packed with a direct methanol fuel cell. The company has said that a 300-milliwatt version of the fuel cell could power a hard-drive-based player for approximately 60 hours on a single charge.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

fuel cell

The fuel cell technology, still in prototype, also fits cell phones. Toshiba expects commercial products to be available in 2007.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

no keys

This concept phone from Mitsubishi, for NTT DoCoMo, has a touch-panel display instead of keys.

mobile phone

This handset prototype from DoCoMo features a bone-transmitting speaker. Users place the handset, designed like a ring, on a finger to make calls.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

BD-ROM

The battle over the successor to the DVD format is in full swing at Ceatec. On the one side is Blu-ray, supported by a host of companies including Sony. Shown here is a concept version of Sony's BD-ROM player.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Blu-ray

Blu-ray is also finding a home in Sony's Vaio systems.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

HD DVD

Leading the charge for the rival HD DVD format is Toshiba, whose gear includes a laptop PC with an HD DVD drive.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

3D projector

A concept 3D projector from Pioneer comes with a docent named Haruka.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:36 GMT (04:36 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

audio combo

Sony's audio combo plays CDs and mini discs and has a hard drive. Still in prototype, it can store 20,000 songs and forward them to portable audio players directly.